This invention relates in general to a system for automated control and more specifically to a system for monitoring and managing crop growth.
Agriculture has been an important aspect of human existence for many years. Improvements in caring for crops, accelerating crop growth, ensuring the quality of crops and providing for a plentiful and efficient harvest have continued to contribute to the enjoyment and improvement of our population's quality of life.
Important areas for automation of agriculture include irrigation, protection against weather, insects and disease, and providing for plant nutrition. Also, it is important to be able to forecast crop growth and harvests so that the economics of harvesting and distribution can be more efficient.
One example of a type of crop that has benefited greatly from recent trends in automated agriculture is the grape which bears fruit used to make wine. Today's vineyards include different dispensing systems for providing water to crops for irrigation. Examples of such systems are “drip” or “sprinkler” systems where water is routed among rows of vines by a tube having emitting holes spaced at regular intervals. The water flow can be turned on or off manually, or can be automated with a timer control, computer, etc. The tubes can be elevated above the ground, or at or below ground level.
While such irrigation systems have proven effective, they do not provide a high level of automation. For example, care must be taken to provide the proper amount of water over time to the crops. Also, it is difficult to selectively provide different amounts of water to different plants, or even plant rows or areas. Some growers rely on many sources of sophisticated information to decide on the times and amounts of irrigation. The plant sizes, weather conditions and forecasts, soil conditions, etc., must be taken into account. The analysis can be performed by each grower, independently, or can be provided by a service to which growers subscribe to help each grower determine how to irrigate. Although, such systems often do achieve improved irrigation, the irrigation process, overall, requires much human participation and is prone to errors and inefficiencies. For example, just measuring the amount of water dispensed to vines is difficult. Although the amount of water injected into the system is easily obtained, it is usually unknown how much water is actually provided to the vines' roots.
Fertilizers and insecticides are typically applied with the use of machinery such as spraying machines and tractors. The application of these chemicals is both vital and complicated. Machine spraying of chemicals requires human action and judgment. Further, application of the chemicals at the wrong time, or under the wrong conditions, can result in violation of laws, ineffective application, crop loss, increased expenses, etc. Growers must be aware of weather and wind conditions so that certain chemicals do not become dispersed to neighboring properties and so that the chemicals have their intended effect on the crop being treated. Many chemicals are restricted and their use must be closely monitored to comply with regulations. The application of chemicals is very labor-intensive and expensive not only in terms of human labor but also for the chemicals, themselves, application methods, fuel used by equipment, etc.
Some rudimentary chemical dispensing systems exist that are similar to the tube irrigation systems. However, a tube dispensing system can not efficiently handle all of the different chemicals that need to be applied. This is because some of the chemicals can not be mixed with others so it is necessary to flush the system with water between application of different chemicals. As with water irrigation, it is difficult to determine how much chemical (or other material) is being dispensed to each vine, row, or even section of vineyard. Further, extensive monitoring, forecasting and other information must be obtained to perform an analysis and determine the proper time to apply an insecticide, fungicide, nutrient, etc. Often, today's growers irrigate and apply chemicals without sufficient regard to available weather data, soil moisture status, statistics, analysis and other crucial data. This can result in crop failure, lower quality crops, or inefficiencies in growing and harvesting that lead to lower profits and the inability to increase subsequent crop quality and/or yields.
For example, the majority of fungicide applications are made based on temperature and humidity information obtained and applied in a rudimentary manner by the vineyard operator, or by basic visual inspections of the vineyard on a semi-frequent basis. This technique of scouting or tracking basic weather data is generally sufficient, however, it can and often does, lead to late application of products after disease is present in the vineyard.
Once disease is present, there is less time available for the grower to get protective fungicides applied and there is generally always a resulting decrease in quality of the grapes in the affected areas. Fungicides are applied by the grower to the affected areas by way of tractor mounted or pulled spray equipment which directs fungicide sprays at the vines. Depending on how quickly the disease is progressing, and how quickly the grower can make an application to all the affected areas, the results can be quite devastating to both yield and quality. It can also have a significant affect on the maturation process of the grapes which has an impact on the final quality as well.
The current methods of applying fungicides and insecticides rely on the use of tractor or trailer mounted application equipment. The spray is directed at the canopy and the coverage is limited by the water volume used. The volume used is regulated by the pressure of the spray pump and the speed that the tractor moves through the vineyard. There is a tradeoff between coverage based on water volume and timing to cover the acres to be sprayed. The more water that is used, the better the coverage but the slower the tractor moves through the vineyard. Therefore, when better coverage is desired, it takes longer to make the necessary applications. This increases the cost to the grower and creates more potential for disease development before protective fungicides can be applied. It also increases exposure to the applicators as they spend more time in the vineyard while making the application. This method of application relies on the availability of tractors in good working order to make the applications. This requires the grower to keep equipment in good working order at all times and increases risk based on breakdowns of equipment during critical application timings.
Currently, the cost of making an application of fungicides, insecticides, nutrients, etc., actually exceeds the cost of the product being applied. Growers seek to reduce their cost of applications and to ensure that applications are made efficiently, effectively, only when necessary, at the proper time and to the exact extent necessary.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a system that improves upon one or more of the shortcomings of the prior art.